European Elections 23 May 2019

Elections for the European Parliament take place every 5 years. An order was laid in the Parliament on Monday 8 April 2019 to set the date for the European Parliament Election. This came into force on Wednesday 10 April 2019. Polling for this election will be held on Thursday 23 May 2019 with votes counted on Sunday 26 May 2019.

The government has made it clear it intends to leave the EU before the date of European Parliament elections. However, if the UK is still in the EU on Thursday 23 May then polls will take place on that day in the UK.

Who can vote in these elections

Anyone aged 18 or over who is an EU citizen and is registered to vote.

To vote in these elections, you must be registered to vote by midnight on Tuesday 7 May.

If the UK takes part in European Parliament elections on 23 May and you’re a citizen of an EU country (other than the UK, Republic of Ireland, Malta and Cyprus) resident in the UK, you can either vote in the UK or in your country or origin.

If you want to vote in your country of origin you will need to contact the electoral authorities in the EU country where you're a citizen.

We've written to all EU citizens on the electoral register for Fife to ask them to fill in and return a form to let us know where they’d like to vote (i.e. in Fife or their country of origin).If you’ve lost your form, or can’t find it, and want to vote in Fife please fill in another and return it to the Electoral Registration Team, Fife House, North Street, KY7 5LT us by 5.00pm on Tuesday 7 May.

Please be aware that if you're a citizen of an EU country and choose to vote in Fife, you will be unable to vote in your country of origin in these elections as well, even if the UK elections are cancelled.

How to register to vote

To make sure you can have your say you must be registered to vote. You can do this by registering to vote here before midnight Tuesday 7 May.

Many people think they are automatically registered because they pay council tax, but this isn’t true. Even if you think you’re already registered but aren’t 100% sure you can double check by calling the electoral registration team on 03451 55 55 11.

Voting by post

Please note that you must be registered to vote before you can apply to vote by post. You can register to vote here.

If you’d like to vote by post or amend an existing postal vote, you must do this by 5.00 pm on Wednesday 8 May.

You should complete and return your postal vote as soon as you can. Your postal vote must be received by the Returning Officer by 10pm on Thursday 23 May.

Please note that if you have a postal vote you can’t go along to your local polling place and vote there on Thursday 23 May. However, you can hand your postal vote in to your local polling place on Thursday 23 May between 7am and 10pm.

Voting by proxy (when someone votes on your behalf)

Please note that you must be registered to vote before you can apply for a proxy vote. You can register to vote here.

If you’d like to amend an existing proxy vote (when someone votes on your behalf), you must do this by 5.00pm on 8 May.

If you’d like to apply for a new proxy vote you must do this by 5.00 pm on Wednesday 8 May.

How to Vote

You have one vote. You cast your vote by putting a 'X' next to the party or individual candidate of your choice.

Scotland is classed as 1 region and 6 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are elected to represent Scotland. MEPs representing the UK are elected under a form of closed list proportional representation (PR), where political parties put forward candidates within each region. Individual candidates may also stand.

Where to vote (including Polling Places)

Please note that In 2017 Fife Council made changes to its polling scheme in the following areas:

Dunfermline East

Glenrothes North

Inverkeithing

Kirkcaldy North

If you live in these areas your polling place may have changed since the last election. In addition to the changes made to some polling boundaries, Fife Council also agreed to change the polling places for some areas as part of the review. There are also some of the previously agreed polling places unavailable for the European Parliament Election on 23rd May (marked*) so again, alternatives are being used.

Please also note that the polling place for Leuchars has been changed since the poll cards for the election were issued (see below).

Ladybank (Howe of Fife Parish) Church Hall, off Church Street, Ladybank KY15 7ND

Leuchars (325QAF)

Army Community Hall, Keith Crescent, Leuchars*

(new polling place not used as yet but shown on Poll Cards)

Leuchars Primary School, 18 Pitlethie Road, Leuchars, KY16 0EZ

Kennoway East (373UAF)

Youth Café, Leven Road

Sports Pavilion, Cotlands Park, Kennoway KY8 5HX

Please check your poll card for up to date details of where to vote. or check where your polling place is by clicking on the map here.

If you're already registered you should receive your poll card (if you're voting in person on 23 May) any time after 26 April. Your poll card is just for information, you do not need it to vote but it is helpful if you take it with you when you go to vote.

The count

Ballot papers will be counted in Fife by the Local Returning Officer, Steve Grimmond and the results sent to the Regional Returning Officer, Kenneth Lawrie, in Edinburgh. The results will be announced on Sunday 26th May, 2019 sometime after 10 pm.

The count will take place at Michael Wood Sports and Leisure Centre, Viewfield, Glenrothes, KY6 2RD from 6pm on Sunday 26 May. Access is restricted to election staff, candidates, their agents and the media.

Access for Media

Applications for media accreditation have now closed. Members of the media were able to apply for accreditation between Thursday 2 - Thursday 16 May. We are not able to accept any new applications after Thursday 16 May.

If you have applied and have any questions about your form then please contact the media team on 01592 583312.

Ballot papers were counted locally by the Local Returning Officer, Steve Grimmond. The results were then emailed to the Regional Returning Officer Kenneth Lawrie in Edinburgh who announced the results for the Scotland Region.